SLAVE DRIVERS
Whistleblower reveals the near-impossible staff workload set by
AMAZON drivers are being forced to deliver up to 240 parcels A DAY in the run-up to Christmas.
Many cut corners by leaving items in sheds or bins, saying it’s the only way to meet “impossible”
targets. And it’s claimed 100 could be left jobless by January, with poor performance used as an excuse to shed excess staff after the festive season.
TV viewers have been bombarded in recent weeks with Amazon’s Christmas advert featuring smiling delivery boxes, set to a version of Supertramp’s hit Give a Little Bit.
But the 160 drivers delivering Christmas presents from the online giants’ depot near Bathgate, West Lothian, can face the sack for failing to hand them straight to customers.
An insider said some drivers leave home at 7am for an 8am start at the depot and are still on the road at 10pm.
And it’s alleged Amazon management threaten to cut their pay if they fail to complete delivery routes.
A whistleblower who works for a third-party delivery firm contracted at Bathgate condemned Amazon’s “ruthless” approach, which has left drivers frazzled by long hours and even crashing vans as they desperately try to finish their rounds.
The insider said 11 firms currently carry out deliveries from Bathgate, servicing areas including Edinburgh, Lothians, Stirling and Falkirk.
They hire drivers as self-employed workers who receive no sick pay or paid holidays – but the firms receive their orders from Amazon.
The US multinational company were founded by Jeff Bezos – the world’s richest person with a £75billion fortune - and make £7.3billion a year in the UK alone.
The insider said: “All these companies recruit extra people for Christmas with false promises of keeping them on.
“But soon it’ll be time for the ‘ramp-down’ which means getting rid of drivers who’ve just started or had poor performances. If a company have 40 drivers now, by January it’ll be 15. “Amazon management push and push, asking how many drivers can you get in for Christmas. “But after their Christmas rush is over, they’ll tell us numbers need to be reduced.” The insider said the Bathgate depot have been handing out routes to about 160 drivers every day but the figure is likely to drop as low as 50 in the near future. They said: “The firms will get an email from Amazon saying thanks very much, but things are quietening down. “Performance is the excuse for choosing people to go. “If you’re putting parcels everywhere – which the guys do just to try and finish – that affects performance. “Drivers put them in blue bins, sheds, doorsteps. “But they’re only allowed to do that if a customer requests such a
location. If a customer complains, then the driver gets a reprimand which gives them a lower score.
“If their score is low, they’ll be the ones who get flushed.
“Sometimes they’ll get sacked a few days before Christmas. They’re told, ‘Sorry, your performance has been bad so we’ll need to let you go’, but it’s really because the festive period is over.”
Amazon plan delivery routes at offices in the US and drivers use a handheld device called a “rabbit’ which can monitor their workrate in real time.
The insider said: “Routes are designed for 10 hours at 200 parcels. That might involve stops at 170 addresses. There’s been 240-parcel routes lately. There’s been drivers crashing, going into hedges, coming off the road.
“These delivery firms are contracted by Amazon. They tell them how many drivers need hired, who’s had poor performances, how many to get rid of.”
The whistleblower also said many extra drivers who are hired before Christmas on Amazon’s orders don’t get paid for two or three weeks after starting. As self-employed workers, they have to fund their “business” before the first pay cheque arrives.
The insider added: “Some companies charge drivers to hire the vans. These drivers often get paid around £103 a day, then pay £27 a day for van hire.
“Amazon might pay £142 at route to a company who then pay the driver £103.”
Drivers working from the Bathgate depot have faced parcel counts of 200 or 220 a day in the run-up to Christmas.
The insider said: “Amazon pretend these routes are pretty manageable but they’re not. Drivers can be left with 100 parcels to go at 4pm.
“Amazon managers then email saying, ‘This guy is failing the route. If he fails, we’ll cut payment from £103 to £75.’
“I’ve seen managers want to reduce payments for failing a route when the driver’s been out 12 hours. This is for maybe £70 a day. The drivers can’t stop, can’t have lunch. They pee in bottles.
“The road near the depot is full of bottles of pee because drivers throw them out before getting back.”
The insider alleged that Amazon “turn a blind eye” to drivers working seven days a week, adding: “Management don’t care as long as the routes are getting out.”
But they said the firm were “shooting themselves in the foot”, with their reputation in the industry making driver recruitment increasingly difficult.
The insider said: “When people think about joining, others say, ‘Don’t do it.’
“We get people who work two days then quit and say, ‘The rumours were true.’”
An Amazon spokesman said: “We are committed to ensuring that the people contracted by our independent delivery providers are fairly compensated, treated with respect, follow all applicable laws and driving regulations and drive safely.
“Our delivery providers are expected to ensure drivers they engage receive a minimum £12 per hour before deductions and excluding bonuses and incentives.
“Drivers deliver at their own pace and take breaks at their discretion.”